OXFORD University researchers have bagged almost £250,000 for a study into treating pseudoaneurysm in a bid to avoid open heart surgery.

The team from the university proved successful when it applied to national charity Heart Research UK (HRUK) for the grant funding and has been awarded £247,685.

Professor Ashok Handa, Professor Eleanor Stride and Dr Regent Lee will be using the money to fund a 36-month project aiming to develop medication which can be injected into the pseudoaneursym, also known as a false aneurysm, when the blood vessel wall has been injured.

Consultant vascular surgeon Prof Ashok Handa said: “I am delighted that HRUK has awarded us this grant to further develop this innovative technology to treat pseudoaneurysms.

“With the increasing number of patients, in particular the elderly and frail, being treated by percutaneous procedures for heart disease, we are already observing a significant rise of pseudoaneurysms.

“We hope this technology can revolutionise the treatment for these patients, avoiding the need for open surgery and reducing hospital admissions.”

Pseudoaneurysm can develop in patients as a complication following ‘keyhole’ procedures to treat heart or artery problems.

If left untreated, a pseudoaneurysm can become bigger as the bleeding continues, resulting in swelling, pain, and sometimes skin ulceration.

The traditional treatment requires open surgery to repair the bleeding keyhole which exposes vulnerable patients to the undesirable risks of surgery, general anaesthesia, bleeding and infection.

Professor Handa and his team hope to be able to develop a treatment which avoids the need for open surgery.